In June 2008, Jeremy Beckham took a day trip from Seattle to
Vancouver, British Columbia, with his girlfriend and brother to visit
famed Capilano Suspension Bridge. The longtime Salt Lake City
animal-rights activist had no problem entering Canada, but his name
was flagged by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection when he
returned.
...
... Beckham believes the government hypes the threat of
animal-activist crimes in order to disrupt the entire movement and
that merely being an animal activist can make you guilty by
association. Beckham and others believe animal exploitation is the
moral equivalent of human torture or murder, and they’re incredibly
earnest and uncompromising in their beliefs that breaking the laws to
free animals is similar to the Underground Railroad.

Agree with them or not, understanding their motivation is key to
understanding tactics that some find unsavory: picketing at animal
researchers’ homes, for example, or publicly praising illegal mink
releases. While some activists have purposely violated the law in
defense of animal rights, those who are not willing to cross legal
lines face anxiety-inducing quandaries: When does free speech become
illegal support of others’ crimes, and what are the consequences of
being an “eco-terrorist” sympathizer?

Law enforcers from the FBI down to Salt Lake City Prosecutor Sim Gill
remind these activists that ignorance of the law is no excuse for
violating it, and yet refuse to issue legal opinions that clearly
distinguish illegal behavior and free speech. An FBI official recently
told City Weekly that the activists have nothing to worry about if
they “don’t push the envelope.” But activists are almost sure to keep
pushing. In which case, they may face more detentions at the border,
FBI informants in their midst and more revisions to the legal
understandings of free speech and assembly.